By Clarissa Pompa | Reporter
Ask any little kid what they want to be when they grow up, and they will probably respond with at least three ideas. Now, ask the same kid where they want to go to college, and there might be a slightly different response. Most kindergarten children may only know the idea of college as a broad concept but for Baylor Legacy families, the Baylor name is well known.
Plano senior Ashley Stricklin is a fifth generation legacy studying political science. Stricklin’s family history extends from her father’s side, and her sister is a 2014 graduate.
Although Stricklin grew up in Plano, her family has been involved with Baylor her entire life —there are even pictures of Stricklin as a baby at Baylor football games.
“My parents were definitely pushing Baylor,” Stricklin said. “My mom had a rule that she would not pay out-of-state tuition. I grew up going to Baylor games, and I was always at Baylor. So I was like well, my home is Baylor.”
With four generations attending Baylor before her, Stricklin is not exaggerating. Despite being from Plano, Baylor events are almost like Stricklin family events.
“My favorite part is whenever I go to Baylor events, my whole entire family goes,” Stricklin said. “It’s like a big family reunion. I like going to events like homecoming, football games, basketball games. It’s really fun to be with my family, I really enjoy that.”
Woodway junior Drew Gochis is also a legacy. Gochis is studying health, kinesiology and leisure services. His parents met at Baylor on a blind date, his mother’s sister is a graduate and his younger brother, Jacob, is a freshman business fellow. With that history, he was still hesitant about attending Baylor.
“I had applied to Dallas Baptist and two Division III schools to play football there,” Gochis said. “I visited those three, and they were all pretty good academic schools. All private Baptist schools. I visited Baylor, and one thing Baylor’s always been to me is family.”
Gochis shares the story of his tour frequently, as he is a tour guide for Baylor now. He enjoys sharing the experience that helped him choose Baylor with the perspective students who might be as nervous as he was. Once he made the decision, he was happy about his acceptance, but he was not the only one.
“My mom was the most excited, then myself and my dad,” Gochis said. “I was pretty fired up, but I think my mom was more happy than I was.”
Gochis and Stricklin, while both familiar with the Baylor environment before applying, were happy to find out just how welcoming the campus was on a consistent basis.
“The social atmosphere here isn’t friends, it’s family,” Gochis said. “Whether it be with professors or with open spaces like with Moody or Fountain Mall, there’s a really warm environment for sure.”
These two legacies both agree that they would let their future families have a choice in college. However like their family before them, they would have a strong inclination toward Baylor, if only because they faced the same situation.
“Once I got to Baylor, I was like ‘Yeah, I really enjoy it,’” Stricklin said. “If I had to make the choice again, I definitely would choose Baylor.”
